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There are benefits and drawbacks to bootstrapping a startup, entrepreneurs say. Bootstrapping can allow you to maintain complete control of your startup and your strategy, but you might miss out on opportunities for rapid growth, they say. "There can be instances where hitting your niche hard and fast is crucial to establishing yourself in your market," said Nanxi Liu of Enplug.

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Making the right decisions for your startup during tough times is easier if you have a "North Star" to guide you, writes Chris Golec, founder and CEO of Demandbase. "One of the most important things I did was to base the company values around four themes that we are committed to at all times: people, innovation, customer success and execution," he writes.

Many startups are eschewing top-down hierarchies in favor of flatter organizational structures, writes Walter Chen, founder and CEO of iDoneThis. Companies can make the most of this "bossless" approach by enabling information to flow freely and by making sure they have the right personnel in place. "When you have a bottom-up rather than a top-down culture, it's all the more important to hire the right people to shape your company's direction," Chen writes. "You're putting the business's fate into your employees' hands."

Before seeking funding for your startup, make sure it will actually help your company, writes Alan Ying of Chrysalis Ventures. It's possible there is some issue with your business model or strategy that needs to be fixed, he notes. "Rapidly growing companies, however, cannot solve problems by merely applying more effort in the same ways," he cautions.

Depending on the nature of your venture, bootstrapping isn't always the correct approach, writes Les McKeown, president and CEO of Predictable Success. Your company could be a good candidate for bootstrapping if you have a small leadership team, low labor costs and quick sales cycle, he writes.

Incorporating your business can protect your personal assets, build the credibility of your company and allow you to maintain some degree of privacy, writes Nellie Akalp, CEO of CorpNet. "The only real 'drawback' of incorporating is that you'll need to operate your business at a higher administrative level than you're used to as a sole proprietorship," she writes. Akalp explains the differences between S corporations, C corporations and limited liability companies.